Pickup baler



5 Sheets-Sheet 1- Ilz ven for CZ emmajlane Aug. 12, 1941. C R, RNEY '2,252,354

P I CKUP BALER Filed oct. a, :193s s sheetsgsheet 2 Inven tol Clemmal. Razz@ Aug. l2, 1941. c, R, RANEY PICKUP BADER Y Filed Oct. 8, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I 12 D611 tal" C Z emma@ Rangy Patented Aug. 12, 1941 PICKUP BALER Clemma R. Raney, Riverside, lll., assignor to International Harvester Company, a corporation of New Jersey Application October 8, 1938, Serial No. 233,998

(Cl. o-25) 11 Claims.

This invention relates to a pick-up baler. More specifically it relates to a. novel conveying mechanism between the pick-up unit and the baler unit.

Pick-up balers normally consist of a pick-up unit, a baling unit, and conveying means between the two units for moving material to be conveyed from the pick-up unit to the baler unit. The material to be conveyed, for example, hay, is fed continuously into the baler unit and compressed by it there into bales. At intervals the setting of a block is necessary for the proper division of the hay compressed into bales. For this there must be a temporary stopping of the fiow of hay into the baler, as well as a separation of the hay in the baler and the hay coming into the baler, in order that the block may be put into position. The invention is directed to a conveying mechanism which will allow the stopping of the flow of hay and separation thereof for the setting of the block.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved pick-up baler construction.

Another object is the provision of a novel conveying mechanism for use between a. pickup unit and a baler unit.

A further object is to provide an improved conveyer mechanism upon which the fiow of hay may be stopped and divided for the setting of a block in the baler unit.

The novel conveying mechanism comprising conveyers, one a short conveyer adjacent a balling unit, and the other a long conveyer adjacent the pick-up unit. Hay is fed by the pick-up unit to the long conveyer, by the long conveyer to the short conveyer, and by the short conveyer to the baling unit. `When a block is to be set in the baler unit, the long conveyer is stopped and fingers move out to prevent the fiow of hay from the long conveyer to the short conveyer. The short conveyer is kept running. The result is a stopping of the flow of hay and a clear division between the hay in the baler and the hay in the conveyer, since the retaining fingers and the stopping of the long conveyer prevent Iiow of hay to the short lconveyer, and the short conveyer quickly clears itself of hay previously conveyed to it.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the novel pick-up baler, showing the pick-up unit and conveyer mechanism; A

Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view of the novel conveying mechanism and shows the driving ele- 'ments of the conveying mechanism in detail; and,

Figure 3 shows a section taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

'I'he pick-up baler comprises a pick-up unit I0, conveying mechanism II, and baling unit I2. Details of the latter are not shown, inasmuch as they form no part of the present invention. The pick-up unit I0 includes a body I4 having a floor I5 and sides I6. At the lower edge of the pick-up unit there are tines I8 mounted upon a drum, not shown, driven by a shaft I9, for gathering hay from the ground and moving it into the body of the pick-up unit. There are chains 20 at each side of` the body for driving the shaft I9, and between them are secured a plurality of spaced slats 2l. At the top of the body I4 and slightly below it is a roll 23. 'I'he pick-up unit is supported by an A-frame 24 composed of legs 25 joined by a triangular plate 26 and a cross p iece 2l extending between the legs. The ends of the legs 25 are supported on wheels 29 and axles 30. The triangular plate 26 is secured to means 32 supported on the end of an axle 33. One end of this axle is supported by a wheel 34. 'Ihe support for the other end is not shown.

The conveying mechanism I I consists of along conveyer 36 adjacent the pick-up unit and a short conveyer 31 adjacent the baler unit. The long conveyer 36 includes a floor 38 and spaced slats 39 secured at their ends to chains 40. The short conveyer 3l has a oor 42 and spaced slats 4,3 secured to chains 44.

As seen in Figure 2, drive for the conveyers originates with a belt 46 driven by a suitable source of power, not shown. This belt 46 passes over a pulley 4l mounted upon a shaft 48. A housing 49 is secured adjacent the end of the shaft 48, and at the end of the shaft a bevel gear 50 is fixed. This gear is in mesh with another bevel gear'52 secured to a shaft 53 journaled at one end in the housing 49. The other end of the shaft rests within a sleeve 54. The bevel gear 52 has a clutching section 56, which is adapted to engage a clutch member 51 slidably keyed upon the sleeve 54. The clutch member 51 is engaged by a part 59 secured to the end of a shaft 6I) slidably mounted in the housing 43. A link 6I is connected at one end to an end of the shaft 60, as at 62, and at the other end to one end of a lever 63, as at 64. The lever 63 is pivoted at its center on the framework supporting the conveying mechanism by means of a pivot member 65. 'Ihe opposite end of the lever carries a follower it, which is in engagement with a cam I1 mounted on a shaft The cam I1 has a portion Il of large radius and a reentrant portion 1l of smaller radius. The shaft Il is vertical and has its upper end journaled in a member 12 and its lower end in a plate 13 connected to the framework supporting the conveyer m The member 12 is secured at the upper edge of a sheet 1l. which extends along the conveyers II and 31 and in a direction generally vertical. but somewhat curved away from the conveyers at its upper edge. There are a plurality of slots 16 in this sheet 1l, which allow the e therethrough of retaining fingers 11 Vsecured to the shaft il. The uppermost retaining member 11 has an extension 1B with a handle 1l thereon. The fingers 11 are staggered so that the ends thereof will be in slots 16 in the curved portion of the sheet 15. as seen in 1. t Alggpurviously stated, the clutch member i1 is slidably keyed upon the sleeve'il. This sleeve il is fixed to one end of a shaft Il. which shaft is supported at its other end in a bearing member l2. Also mounted at this end is a sprocket wheel over which is passed a chain I4. This chain is also in mesh with a sprocket wheel l5 mounted upon a shaft Il. There are also sprocket wheels l1 and Il on the shaft which are in mh with the chains 4I previously referred to as supporting the slats I! ofthe long conveyor 3i.

At an end of the/shaft i3, which protrudes from the housing I9, a sprocket wheel 9| is secured. A chain u meshes with this wheel and also with a sprocket wheel $2 secured to one end of a shaft I3. Also mounted on this shaft are sprocket wheels ll and OI,V with which mesh chains u previously referred to as supporting slats 43- of the short conveyer l1.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that drive of the long conveyer 3l is dependent upon the clutch members l1 being in' ent with the clutching section Il ofthe bevel gear 52, for the long conveyer is-connected with the clutch member 51 through the sleeve il, shaft ll, sprocket wheel chain I l, sprocket wheels, shaft and sprocket wheels I1 and Il. Drive" of the shortoonveyer 31 depends upon the sprocket wheel Il, which wheel is connected with the conveyer through chain II, sprocket wheel l2, shaft Il and sprocket wheels 94 and II. -The bevel gear!! is continuously in mesh with thebevel gear llldrlven by the shaft ,in

turn driven by the pulley 41 and belt It. v'I'he wheel I. rotates with the bevel gear il. Consequently, as long as the belt II supplies power to the pulleyV I1. the short conveyer will be driven. Driving of the long conveyer. however, can be interrupted by actuationof themember 1I and crank 1i. ll'igurel shows thevmember and crank in such a position that the long conveyer is driven. When. however.V it is desired to interrupt the drive of this conveyer. the member and handlearemovedclockwiseasviewedinligurei toapositionlikethatshowninFigureZ. lBy' this movement the shaft Il and thecam l1 are caused to rotate. '111e follower member moves from the portion" of small radius of the cam l1 to the portion Il of large radius, and consequently an angular movement of the lever is' effected. This'produces an axial sliding of the shaft Il throughtbemedimnofthe link CI soas to cause the element I to slide the clutch member" axiallyofthesleevelloutofengagement In this position the gear 52 no longer drives the clutch member B1. and driving of the long conveyer stops. It is also to be noted that simultaneously with all of this, the fingers 11 are l caused to move through theslots 16 in the plate or sheet 15 to a position substantially between the conveyers 3i and 31.

During normal operation, the pick-up baler is either moved over the ground or kept stationary. The tines I8 pick up hay and deposit it upon the hoor I5, over which the slats 2l move it. When the hay reaches the top of the pick-up, it is deposited upon the roller 23 and from there moves onto the long conveyer 36. From the long conveyer JI it moves to the short conveyer 31 and then into the baler unit I2. The operation upon the hay in the baler unit is well understood in the art and no description of it is given since it forms no part of the present invention. Suiilce it to say that it is subjected to the alternate action of a feeder and a plunger. the feeder forcing the hay down into the baling chamber and the plunger compressing it. At regular intervals, a block must be placed in the hay. so that the compressed hay may be separated into bales. For the satisfactory placing of the block, the iiow of hayv must be stopped and divided. At this point, an operator will swing the member 18 in the clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure l, previously referred to.

'I'he action has the two-fold elect of stopping the running of the long conveyer and moving the retaining member 11 into a position between the conveyers. The short conveyer 31 continues to run, and the result is that hay cannot be fed from the long conveyer to the short conveyer because of the presence of the retaining element 11and the stopping of the long conveyer. The short conveyer moves all of the hay left upon it into the baling unit and is left clear. The sweeping action of vthe retaining member 11 across the short conveyer and in a direction toward the long conveyer aids the clearing of the short conveyer.l 'I'he result is a stopping of the ilow of the hay and a clear separation between thehay inthe baler unit and that left in the conveyer mechanism. The block may now be satisfactorily positioned against the compressed hay in the baler unit. After it has been positioned, the member 18 is again swung back'to itsoriginal position in Figure 1, the retaining member 11 being moved out of the way and the long conveyer 30 being again driven. Hay now again flows into the baler unit for compressing and It will be apparent from the foregoing descrip,- tion that a novel conveying mechanism has been provided suitable for use in conveying hay between a pick-up unit and a .baler unit. It is to be understood that the conveying mechanism is not to be limited in its use with the particular pick-up unit shown, but may find 'use in the transporting of crops to be treated between any sort of a pick-up unit and any sort of a croptreating unit, or for the mere feeding vof crops into a treating unit.

'I'he invention is to be limited only in terms of the appended claims.

with the 'clutch Yseiztiolrof thebevel gear I2. 75' taining device. and means constructed and ar.

ranged for stopping the first conveyer and for moving the retaining device in a substantially horizontal direction from a non-retaining position in relation to the material handled into a material retaining position between the conveyers.

2. Mechanism for feeding material to a treating device, comprising a flrst conveyer adapted to receive material, a second conveyer adapted to transfer material from the first conveyer to the treating device, a movably positioned material retaining device, means constructed and arranged for moving the retaining device in a substantially horizontal direction from a non-retaining position in relation to the material handled into a material retaining position between the conveyers, and means for stopping the first conveyer. 1 n

3. Mechanism for feeding material to a treatlng device, comprising a first conveyer adapted to receive material, a second conveyer adapted to transfer material from the first conveyer to the treating device, an oscillatably positioned ma- /terial retaining device, means for horizontally os- 1cillatably moving the retaining device from a nonretaining position in relation to the material handled into a material retaining position between the conveyers, and means for curtailing the movement of the first conveyer in the direction toward the treating device materially below the rate of movement of the secondconvyer in the same direction.

4. Mechanism for feeding material to a baling unit, comprising a first conveyer adapted to ree .adapted to transfer material from the flrst contransfer material from thefirstfconveyer to thel i ceive material, a second conveyer ,adapted to' baling unit, a retainingv devices-means vconstructed and arrangedl for moving ythe,(retzaiining device across the second conveyer erallyuaway fromgthe balin nit to1 A y n position between the',conveysrs n 'ust' stopping 5. Mechanism fory fe y unit, comprising a first co veyer.'l ,adapted to receive material, a second garriverez'adapted to transfer materialifrpmgne mst ce veyer,- to .the

the 'rstconveyenyl i t4,

ding materialto'a baling baling unit-fa retaining device, meaiis constructed" i and arranged forfploving the retaining device across thev second conveyer inra direction generally away frm'the Y,baling Aunitto a position between the conveyers,' and means forcurtailing tlie movement of the iirst conveyer in the direction toward the baling unit materially below the rate of movement of the second conveyer in the same direction.

6. Mechanism for feeding material to a baling unit, comprising a support, a first conveyer mounted on the support and adapted to move material toward the baling unit, a second conveyer mounted on the support and adapted to move material from the first conveyer to the baling unit, a retaining device pivotally mounted on'the support on an axis alongside the conveyers and substantially at right angles to the plane of the conveyers, means for swinging the retaining device about its pivot axis from a position alongside the conveyers over the second conveyer in a direction generally away from the baling unit to inlea direction gen- 40 tion generally between the conveyers to prevent a position between the conveyers, and means for stopping the iirst conveyer.

7. Mechanism for feeding material to a balingunit, comprising a support, a rst conveyer 5 mounted on the support and adapted to move masupport on an axis alongside the conveyers and substantially at right angles to the conveyers, means constructed and arranged for swinging the retaining device about its pivot axis from a position alongside the conveyers over the second conveyer in a direction generally away from the baling unit to a position between the conveyers, and means for curtailing the movement of the first conveyer in the direction of the baling unit materially below the rate of movement of the second conveyer in the same direction.

8. Mechanism for feeding material to a baling unit, comprising a first driven conveyer adapted to receive material, a second driven conveyer adapted to" transfer material from the first conveyer to the baling unit, raking means constructed and arranged and having only oscillatable movement and being capable of movement from a nonobstructing position in relation to the material ,moved on the conveyers to a stationary position 30. obstructing transfer of material from the first to the second conveyer.

9.` Mechanism Afor feeding material to a baling unit, 'comprising first driven conveyer adapted to receive material, a second driven conveyer veyer to the baling unit, raking means constructed and arranged and having only oscillatable i l. movement and being positioned to move from a normally ineffective position to a stationary positransfer of material from the first to the second conveyer, and means for stopping the first conveyer.

10. Mechanism for feeding material to a baling unit, comprising a first conveyer adapted to receive material, a second conveyer adapted to transfer material from the first conveyer to the baling unit, a forked raking retainer constructed and arranged and having only oscillatable movement and being positioned adjacent the proximate inner ends of the conveyers for movement between obstructing and non-obstructing positions with respect to the material moved on the conveyers.

11. Mechanism for feeding material to a baling unit, comprising a first driven conveyer adapted to receive material, a second driven conveyer adapted to transfer material from the rst conveyer to the baling unit, an oscillatable retainer constructed and arranged and positioned for substantially horizontal movement from' a non-obstructing position in relation to the material moved on the conveyers to a stationary position obstructing movement of the material from the first to the second conveyer, and means to stop movement of the first conveyer.

CLEMMA R. RANEY. 

